Help for student PSU design projects

ON Semiconductor is encouraging electrical engineering students worldwide to enter the Efficiency Challenge 2004 international power supply design contest.

To further encourage electrical engineering students worldwide to enter Efficiency Challenge 2004, an international power supply design contest being sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Energy Commission (Energy Commission), ON Semiconductor plans to extend its support to university design teams via technical assistance and complimentary semiconductor device kits.

Additionally, ON Semiconductor will award monetary prizes to the top three finishers among the assisted universities in the entire competition.

Efficiency Challenge 2004 is endorsed by the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) and is aimed at fostering the development and market success of energy-efficient power supply designs.

Two major design categories are being featured, according to an announcement released by the EPA and the Energy Commission.

The first category will cover internal and external "market-ready" designs that can cost-effectively save energy in particular types of consumer electronics.

The second is an "open" category intended to showcase the most effective power supply designs from industry and academia without cost constraints.

It is estimated that between 1 and 2% of all the electricity currently used in the USA could be saved by efficiency improvements to power supply devices that convert AC power from wall outlets into low voltage DC power.

This applies to the power conversion circuitry within electronic products such as cordless phones, computers, television sets, stereo equipment, cell phone chargers and PDA docking stations.

Research funded by the EPA's Energy Star programme and the Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) programme has identified AC/DC power supplies as a major opportunity for reducing global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Today, there are more than 3.1 billion power supplies in use in the USA and about 10 billion globally.

Many of the power supply designs used in today's consumer electronics are only 30 to 60% efficient - although technologies exist to achieve operating efficiencies of 90%.

Although the international design competition will showcase highly efficient technologies, it is also focused on highlighting the benefits of advanced power supplies to electronics buyers.

Opportunities to improve power efficiency and conserve electricity are available to companies that manufacture power supplies as well as much larger companies that purchase power supplies for use in computers, televisions, printers, monitors and more.

Efficiency Challenge 2004 will run throughout the 2004 calendar year, with the winners announced at APEC 2005.

For more information, visit www.efficientpowersupplies.org.

ON Semiconductor will assist up to a total of 10 universities - domestically and internationally - that apply to participate in this competition.

Applications for this assistance must be submitted by 15th April 2004.

ON Semiconductor's assistance will consist of: evaluation board(s) provided at no charge; engineering assistance from the company's engineering experts (field application engineers or systems engineers); relevant samples available from the company's entire device portfolio; a dedicated e-mail support line; and access to regional labs for testing (limited to 8 hours).

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